Escape to Scotland
by Hellokittyhatter45
Summary: Matthew has had enough at home, with his fathers always fighting. He had to leave, he had to get away. So he did. He had heard of an uncle in Scotland. It was better than staying with his fighting parents.
1. Chapter 1

All his fathers ever did was fight. So what did it matter? They wouldn't notice he was gone. They never noticed when he went over to his friend's house. He could walk right out of the house and have no problems.

Matthew was sixteen years old, and already taking on the mental toll of someone far more older than him. His family never got along. The blonde understood that there was no perfect family, but it this was far worse. When he asked his best friends, they agreed that the Canadian's family did at least twice the fighting of theirs.

On top of his parents fighting, and him and his twin never seeing eye to eye, Matthew was ignored. Sometimes he could go a whole day without being noticed, he would rather be bullied than be ignored. It hurt, knowing he was invisible.

* * *

His bags were packed, and his ticket was purchased. The only thing left to do was leave. Getting out of the house without being noticed would be easy, but actually saying goodbye was the hardest part. He accepted that he may never see the house he grow up in , or the people who lived there for a long while. Though Matthew couldn't spend more than two minutes on the thought. He always had to stop and push it aside or else he would end up a mess, and he would never get out of the place, let alone the country.

A car had just parked on the street in front of the home. It was time to leave. Grabbing his suitcases, and slinging his bag over his shoulder, Matthew took one last look at the room, remembering all good times he had spent there. It was once a nursery for him and Alfred, his twin. They shared the room since they were 11, then the American declared he needed his privacy, so he took up the guest room.

Descending the stairs he heard yelling, it wasn't uncommon.

"Francis! Where were you last night?!"

"I swear I was not with zomeone else!"

"You're a frog, and a liar!"

Matthew knew for a fact that his french father was not out with someone else for two reasons, he followed him, and his father was not like that, he truly did love his British partner. For a moment the teen almost marched into the living room to stop the fight with these facts, but then he remembered that he had to go.

Outside Gilbert and Ivan were in Gilbert's car. Closing the door to his old house, he ran to the friends. Once inside, the Prussian sped off, not giving Matthew time to look back and change his mind. But yet an emotional pain pawed roughly at his chest. There was no way tears would spill, not now, and not for a long while.

"So your really leaving?" The albino asked.

They had gone over this multiple times. It was agreed that Matthew needed to get away from the life he was living, the pair even helped to pay for his train ticket. It was all for the best.

"Yeah. You missing me already, eh?" He laughed, trying lighten the mood. The question went unanswered. Ivan stayed quiet as well, and every now and then he'd steal a glace at the Canadian through the rear view mirror. It was very depressing.

He was the one who broke the silence. "Are you sure this uncle is even alive?"

"Yeah, he should be. I really don't know. I think my father would have told me if my uncle died." Matthew was unsure of his answer but he refused to dwell on it.

"Your dad didn't tell you zhat you had an uncle." The Prussian pointed out.

"I'm going, no matter what!" His voice was firm. Just the thought of turning back and living with the fighting and arguing for another two years made him sick.

It wasn't long before they were at the train station. The Canadian's friends helped him with his bags. They gave him a nod as he walked off and to his train. The pair stood on the platform. "I want to know all about zhis Scottish uncle of yours! E-mail me the moment you get zhere!" Gil said.

Matthew nodded and the train started. He waved to his friends and found an open spot not too far down the isle.

Only four hours till he was in Scotland. He took out the piece of paper he printed the directions on. The blonde teen had been searching for his uncle for awhile now, he seemed like an interesting man, but he was also hard to find. He didn't have a Facebook, Twitter, or anything like that, and if he did, he was really good at keeping it underground. Matthew felt like he was stalking the man, and in a way, he was, but he needed to find him.

Putting the paper neatly back into the sturdy bag he brought with him, he carefully pulled out his laptop. He wanted to see if Alfred saw he was gone yet, and knowing his twin, if he had noticed it would be all over Facebook.

To Matthew's dismay, there wasn't anything on there about him missing, not even a message. So they hadn't found out yet. It had been two hours, and he didn't leave a note or tell anybody. Would they ever notice?

* * *

"Where is Mattie?" Arthur asked.

"I haven't seen him all day."

"Wait! You haven't seen him all day? I haven't either..." There was panic in the Frenchman's voice.

The Brit stared at his partner before racing up the stairs to the boy's room, everyone else followed close behind. Swinging open the door. They found that Matthew wasn't there and that most of his clothes and belongings were gone with it.

"Alfred, don't let any of your friends know, not yet." Arthur instructed. He didn't want it getting out that he had lost his son. It would be humiliating, and he was already under enough stress. "He might even come back tonight. He's probably just at a friend's house." The blonde said these things to calm himself down rather than everyone else. "If he's not back tomorrow afternoon. I'll call him." His voice was shaking as he said this.

The rest of the night was gloomy and stiff but there wasn't any fighting, everyone was too depressed to argue.

* * *

At a quarter past nine the train arrived at Matthew's destination. In a small town near Edinburgh. Only two miles from the station was where his uncle lived.

Picking up his bags and heading towards the direction, following the map on the paper, did Matthew realize that he would have to explain all this to his uncle. Did he want he to know the truth? Would the Scot send him back? Or would he just not believe they were related? What did this man do for a living? Would he harm Matthew?

The Canadian cleared his head of these thoughts, there was no going back now, although he was far from home, in a foreign place and alone, he would not doubt his decision. He had gone through so much pain, and this was his escape, he would make it his escape.

After the walk, which seemed much longer carrying his bags, he was at the front of a castle. On the gates was a big letter 'K', Matthew's father's -his uncle's brother- last name was Kirkland.

Taking in a deep breath, he pushed open the gate, it was unlocked. He took a bold step into the court yard. He felt like he was going to be sick. Taking another step he narrowed his vision to the door, it made it seem less intimidating. He then took another and another. Soon he was at a steady pace. But too soon he was at the door, and the only thing left to do was to knock. For a moment, Matthew pondered how his uncle, or who ever else lived in the castle would hear if he knocked on the door, but they were on the other side of the estate. He knocked anyway.

There was barely a break after his knock, the door swung open, reveling a tall, lean red head. He had the same eyes as his brother. Matthew knew this was his uncle, the man looked like a true Scot. "Ye looked a wee bit frightened tae knock on the door." He added a chuckle.

Color disappeared from the teen's cheeks. He was going to throw up, but he was also scared to. He wished he hadn't left home. He was mentally beating himself up for all of this. "H-hi-hi, I'm M-Matt-Matthew Wi-Williams. I-I-I'm Arthur K-Kirkland's son." He thought he got rid of the stutter a few years ago, but he was mistaken. His head went fuzzy, and he felt weak, he couldn't faint, not yet!

"Aye, so if yer tellin' the truth, yer my nephew." He shook his head. "With that stutter, I wouldn't believe ye, but ye are a bit frightened an' shaken up." The only thing Matthew could do was stare shockingly at the elder his throat dry and hands wet with sweat. A shiver ran down his spine.

Seeing that the boy wasn't going to talk he took a suitcase from his hand. The blonde jumped back a foot. "Calm dow', 'm not gonna hurt ye." Hearing the sincerity in his voice, he let his uncle take his suitcase.

It was huge on the inside like it was on the outside. They foyer itself was triple the size of a normal one. "Why didn't yer da call tae tell me ye were comin'?" It sounded like there was no need to answer, like the man knew what was really going on.

"W-well...ummm... He-he doesn't know... I-I kinda-a ju-just left."

"That sounds like a similar story..." The man gave a chuckle. "So my brother hasn' been treatin' ye right...? Looks like 'm gonna have tae have a talk with my wee brother..."

"NO!" Matthew didn't mean to shout, but he most certainly want his dad to find out where he was, he didn't want to go back home to that wasteland. The red head nearly dropped the bag in his hand, but caught himself.

"That bad, aye?" He asked as he continued to walk through the stone castle. "I can't say I won't call him, but I can say that for tonight I won't call him." It was better than nothing.

"M-may I ca-call you uncle?" The last part came out fast, almost one word.

"I am yer uncle."

"I-I don't k-know your first name." He gulped.

"So ye know where I live, but ye don't know my name?" Matthew nodded his head. It was sadly true, he didn't find the name, it was hard to find that one piece on the internet. "It's Allistor."

After climbing a grand stairway, that was off of the sitting room, they stopped outside of door. "Ye can stay here. Are ye hungry?" The teen gave a quick head shake, it was a lie, he hadn't eaten since this morning and that was only a single pancake. "Well it's late, get some sleep, well talk more about this tomorrow.

**A/N: This is the first chapter of my story, I didn't really now the title, but this is what I got. Thank you, my awesome, amazing, and fabulous editor!**

**P.S. Me and my editor use different programs and it gets a bit confusing when he sends it to me so I have to go through and add things he's forgotten, but I think I got it now**


	2. Chapter 2

It had been a few years since Matthew hadn't woken up to fighting, some nights he would leave his earbuds in and go to sleep to his music, just to wake up to music, instead of yelling.

The sun shone through the deep blue curtains of the room. It was quite, for a moment, and then the sound of footsteps passed by, but they didn't stop at his door, they continued down the hallway. It was probably just Allistor.

Slowly the Canadian got out of bed too. Part of him wanted to just stay in bed, and relax a bit, he never got to do that, but he also wanted to talk with his uncle about what he was going to do. He got up and looked through one of the suitcases looking for fresh clothes. Finding a pair of jeans, a plain white t-shirt, and a red hoodie, he found that there was a bathroom off of his room. He never had his own bathroom, he was so used to only spending 5 minutes in the morning getting ready. It was a nice change.

Snatching his phone from the bedside table, Matthew headed out into the hallway, looking for his uncle.

At first he was confused, none of the hallways looked like the ones he remembered from last night, he was trying to find a familiar place to start from. Turning a corner he was at the top of the staircase. He walked down, curious as to if the Scotsman would be on the first floor.

It wasn't sound, or movement, but smell, that helped Matthew locate the elder. The smell of pancakes. It was heavenly. He just hoped Allistor was a better cook than his brother was.

Tracking the sent, he wandered into the kitchen. There stood his uncle, only half dressed, standing at the stove, this gave the blonde a scare, he tripped on his own thoughts, nearly falling. The sound made the Scot turn around. "G'morn' laddie!" He didn't seem like a morning person, but he was making an effort seeing how scared Matthew was of him last night. "I usually don't make breakfast, but I thought that ye would be hungry."

"Oh, y-you didn't ha-have to." The teen cursed himself, he couldn't get rid of that stutter to save his life. It was annoying. He had almost pulled off the lie, stutter and all, but then his stomach decided to demonstrate the mating call of a whale. Even though Allistor was family, he wanted to die of embarrassment

A hearty chuckle filled the room. The red head put a plate of pancakes and maple syrup on the counter by a stool. "Eat up.

Matthew obeyed, terrified if he didn't. "So about my dad?"

"Yes?"

"What are you going to tell him? And when?" It came out faster than he anticipated.

Allistor took a seat in the other stool. "I haven't talked tae me brother in a long while, telling him that I have his son... That aint the easiest thing in the world. But... I will have tae call him later today. He must be really worried."

"I doubt it." It was the first thing that came out clear as day, no stutter, not saying it at an increased speed, but it was suppose to be quiet. Quiet so that the elder wouldn't hear. But he did.

"What do ye mean."

"No-noth-nothing."

"Laddie, ye mean something? Has he... hit ye?"

"No, nothing like that!" The man looked at him with wide eyes, pleading him to go on. "He... he doesn't notice me. No one does... Not with Alfred the football star. Not with his greatness. I'm just... there..."

He got a sympathetic look from his uncle. "He's not going tae notice ye if yer not there." It was a good point, but he didn't want to go back and deal with the neglect, his uncle seemed to notice him just fine. Would that wear off? Would his uncle soon become like his dad? "And ye still have tae go tae school. I can't just keep ye here."

"But I don't like the fighting. There always fighting. I can't think straight with all that yelling. I can't go back there." He tried not to cry, but a tear slipped. Matthew really didn't want to go back. It would be even worse. He understood that he couldn't just run from his problems, but these problems had been going on for too long. "Are you going to send me back?"

"Nah, ye'll end up running off again. It's best that at least I knew where ye are, but 'm gonna have tae call yer da, don't want him to worry too bad, but let's let him sweat bout it for a wee bit longer." Allistor took in a mouth full of coffee.

* * *

Matthew was in his room, on the internet. Allistor had to go out to pick up some cigarettes.

Suddenly, in the quiet room, his phone went off. He jumped off his bed. When he took a look at the phone, it was a name he didn't want to see in a while. It was his father. The Canadian didn't really want to answer, he didn't want to deal with the fate that was to come. Should he let it go to voice mail?

He picked up the phone and pressed the answer button. "Where are you?"

"Wh-why does it matter?" He wanted to sound braver, but he failed.

"Your my son!"

The blonde wished it would have been his French father, he was understanding, and easier to talk to.

"Then start acting like I am!" It had been said. The statement had been running through his head for so long, he dreamed of saying, and he dreamed that his father would go along with it, and start acting like a better dad.

"Your grounded!" The Brit practically yelled it.

"You don't know where I am, remember..." After that he ended the call.

_Don't breakdown, Mattie, everything is going to be alright. Everything'll blow over. Everything is going to be alrigh. Don't panic. Don't worry. Everything is going to be alright. Everything is going to be alright. Everything will turn out alright.__  
_  
Downstairs the door opened and then was slammed shut. Should he tell his uncle? What would he think?

He wiped a tear from under his glasses, and went to talk with the Scot.

The man was in the sitting room, a glass of what looked like whiskey, and a cigar. "Ummmm..." His tongue didn't want to form the words.

"My arsehole of a brother called an' asked where ye are, an' this all ended in ye being grounded?"

"H-how did you know?"

"I was once in yer position, once. Why do ye think that I ran away from my family? I haven't seen Arthur in... Wow it's been so long!" Allistor looked kinda depressed, but then his face changed back to the stone-like face that he often wore. "What did ye say?"

The Scot had something father-like about him. Maybe it that he looked as if he had aged with wisdom. He understood, Matthew. He looked as if he had learned from his mistakes.

"He asked me where I was and I said why does it matter, then we got in a fight aboot him being a good father. Now I'm grounded." Matthew's stutter was almost gone, he slipped on a few words but he was getting comfortable talking with the man.

Finally his uncle looked into his violet eyes. "What do ye wanna do?"

It was the first time he got a choice in his life. Like when his fathers split up (The first time) He wanted to stay with his British father, so he could stay in school, and he wouldn't have to deal with moving back in. But instead he stayed 2 weeks in a cheap, one room motel while his father cried about everything! "I want to stay with you, if you don't mind..."

Allistor's eyes got wider. "I don't mind, but I am gonna have tae talk with yer father..." Matthew nodded his head.

The pair sat there on the couch for a some time, basking in the silence. It was quite pleasant. "Why me?"

"What do you mean?"

Removing the cigar from his mouth the red head asked again, "Why me? Ye have other uncles. Ye could have just stayed at a friends. But instead ye come all this way, just to stay with me."

The answer was simple. "I need a change. More than just getting out of the house, I needed to go to a place where I could get a fresh start."

There was a few moment's of silence and then the Scot got up, his spine making a popping noise from being in the same spot for so long. "Well, I better go an' call yer dad, then enroll ye in the local school, then we'll go out fer dinner."

When the man left the room, Matthew let his mind ask the questions he was too tired to ask last night. _When will I go home? Will I go home? What will my father think? Will his father want to see him? What will his other father think? He'll be really upset, he gets upset about every little thing. Why hadn't Allistor seen his brother in a while? Will his father force him to come home?_

He didn't know how long he had been sitting there, but he heard his uncle shouting from the other room. "The lad doesn't wanna go home! He needs a break away from ye!" It went silent for a few minutes. Then he slammed the phone into the receiver.

The Scot didn't come back into the sitting room but he picked up the phone again. This call seemed more formal. It was probably to the local school.

It wasn't long til he came back. It looked like he had already cleaned himself up and was dressed in black jeans and a Rolling Stones shirt. He was like one of those cool middle aged men who was at rock concerts, and knew all the coolest rock stars. Matthew never thought much of these guys but now, he appreciated them.

"Are ye ready?"


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: My editor hasn't edited this yet. But I thought that you would want chapter 3 soon, so here it is, I'll update it when he gets it edited. Thank you, I hope you enjoy! :)**

There was so much Matthew didn't know about Allistor. One that he did have many friends, odd as those friends were. Another was that he drank, a lot, not like normal people.

Allistor took his nephew to the bar down in the village. It was more of a pub, quiet, even the drunks were polite but they all were rough looking, like they could kill you and walk away from the scene and not even have a second thought. It was kinda scary. Matthew would probably have avoided these people but right now, they were almost welcoming.

The Scot introduced him to some of the people he was closer to. One of these people was a tall purple haired bartender. She and Allistor were related, cousins. So she was related to Matthew. It was hard for him to think that he had family outside of his fathers and Alfred. He was just now getting used to the fact that the red head was his family.

Ingrid, the bartender, had tattoos, and wore black boots. Her hair wasn't all purple, it had black at the bottom as well. She looked kind of scary but she gave the Canadian a pleasant smile. She didn't seem as intimidating.

She was fifteen years younger than Allistor, closer to Matthew's age. She was like one of those curvy biker girls. That life style looked like it would suit her.

"Ingrid, this is Matthew, yer second cousin."

"Ah Arthur's lad." She had an accent, just not as thick as her red headed cousin. "I have a feelin' Artie isn't treaten ye right...?"

Matthew didn't want to answer that, he didn't want to talk about anything to do with his dad. "Nah, the arse ignores his own son."

The girl seemed taken aback. "I'm gonna-!" Another bartender walked past her.

"Ingrid, watch yer mouth." She whispered into her ear and walked away.

She sighed. "I got to get back to work. See ye around." She got back to work.

The pair sat there for an extra moment before leaving. "She's a character, but family."

"Do you know why my dad never talked about her?" They were walking down the street. It was a bit chilly but not bad enough that they need heavy coats.

"They hated, loathed, each other. More that Artie loathed her. She didn't care."

It was about 10, and the only light was that of the street lights. It was a perfect early spring night, not too cold, not too warm. A nice breeze. It was had been a calm, smooth day. Allistor had took Matthew to the mall, and showed him around the small town. He kind of wished he could spend it with Alfred. Alfred had texted him a few times. None of those times did Matthew reply. They were all questions he didn't want to answer.

The Scot looked up to the sky. "Ye okay with staying here? In Scotland? With me?"

"Of course. If th-that's okay with you."

"I don't mind, it's nice tae have someone in the house with me."

They walked up the hill and to the estate in complete silence, it didn't bother either of them too much.

When they got up to the castle, Matthew went right up to bed, but Allistor stopped him. "G'night, Mattie. Ye start school on Monday." It was a slightly awkward exchange but it was better than what happened at home... Now that Matthew thought about it, his father never said good night to him.

* * *

Matthew had woken up to rain. So much rain! That's all anyone could hear was rain hitting the roof, the side of the house and the window pane. The blonde relaxed back into the mattress and took a deep breath. Tomorrow he would have to go to school, he better enjoy this while he could.

He felt at peace in the castle, even though it was only his second morning here. He decided to text Alfred, let him know he was okay. The Canadian grabbed his phone and texted him. _Hey, I'm at our uncle's house. I'm staying here for a while. _

Getting up he stretched. He then got ready, taking a quick shower, and got dressed in a pair of jeans, a white shirt, and a hoodie.

Knowing his way now to the kitchen he walked the hallways without worrying of getting lost, he knew where to go.

The castle was calm, relaxed, even though a the storm outside threatened to blow it down. Matthew figured that rain in Scotland was the same as snow in Canada, it just belonged.

"G'mornin' laddie!" For all that Allistor drank last night, he was in a splendid mood. Normal people would have not been up at 8 o'clock with such an uplifted attitude had they drank that much, but the Scot showed no signed of a hang over.

"Good morning." Matthew sat down in the same stool he had yesterday.

"Yer da' called."

"And...?"

"He's a wreck, but happy that yer okay. Still he's beggin' me tae send ye back tae him. I said 'd talk tae ye..."

The blonde replied fast. "I don't want to go back."

Allistor looked at him, trying to see if he was lying or if there was even the slightest hint of hesitation. "Ye better be the one tae tell him that. Plus, I'm sure he wants tae hear from ye, lord knows he wont take my word."

"Can it wait till later?" Matthew wasn't in the mood to deal with his crying father. Arthur, his British dad rarely cried, or he never had seen him cry, but Francis, his other French father, let his emotions show, he was the one that cried tears of joy, and tears of sorrow whenever he felt like it. It was quite a scene.

"If ye think it can wait... 'm not forcing ye, just it's a good idea." The red head wasn't like his dads, he didn't force things on Matthew, if it had been his father, the phone would have been shoved into his palm and he would be forced to talk. If it were his fathers choice he would have been sent back home the moment he got through the gates.

"I'll call him later."

The two ate breakfast and the headed down into town to get stuff for Matthew's first day at school here.

He was nervous about going, it would be a bit scary going to school in a whole new country, but from what he had learned, Allistor was well known around here, and he would hear all about his nephews first day personally from the teachers. Even some kids said hi to him when they walked around town. The way his father talked about his brother you would swear he worshiped Satan and ate little kids. But that was so inaccurate.

**A/N: I stayed home from school today, I just didn't feel like dealing with any of it. I would rather stay home, write fanfictions, and listen to Of Mice and Men and Bring me the Horizon. And then my brother had to stay home and make everything worse. I feel down the stairs and got yelled at because I woke up my mom. But hey, my cat cares!**


	4. Chapter 4

The alarm went off and Matthew woke up, trying to figure out what the sound was. Soon his brain started functioning properly. It was his phone alarm going off. But why? It felt too early to be thinking right.

"C'mon, lad, ye got school." Shouted his uncle from the other side of the door.

School. He had school.

Matthew got up and got dressed, running a comb through his hair, although, that curl stayed where it always was. He didn't bother, he learned to ignored it along time ago. Checking his cell phone he saw that his twin had texted him. _I hope you have fun living without us. _The blonde could almost taste the hatred. But he put it behind him, he didn't want to be thinking about his brother, who was mad at him, while he was at his first day of school.

Downstairs, Allistor was pouring himself another cup of coffee, while setting a plate of pancakes in front of Matthew. "I'm gonna drive ye today, but after ye get used tae it, ye can take the bus or walk if ye want."

It was a bit shocking that Matthew had come here only a few days ago to get away from his old life, and now he was going to school, like he belonged here. Maybe he did? Scotland may not be Canada, where he was born, but it was almost as if he fitted in.

He was ate and grabbed the bookbag full of supplies, that Allistor had bought him yesterday.

They walked out to the car. Matthew got in, the second he was in the seat, his stomach did backflips, he felt like he was going to be sick. He wanted to curl up and wait for the day to be over. His doctor said he needed medicine for his anxiety and that he should never be put under a lot of stress. But his fathers never got him the medicine. The only reason he could handle meeting his uncle was because he had been planning that for a long time.

"Are ye goin' be okay."

Matthew managed to nod his head. He didn't want to explain his anxiety to Allistor, he hated talking about it to anyone. He hated having it. The Canadian sometimes thought that if he put it in the back of his mind, it would just magically go away.

"Call me if ye need me tae come and get ye."

Matthew nodded again and sat back in the seat and buckled up.

The ride was short, the school wasn't very far. Kids poured into the school. "Do ye need me tae walk ye in?"

"No." It would be embarrassing if his uncle walked him in, he was 16, he could do this on his own, even if he didn't want to. "I'll be fine." Matthew said it more to himself that the man, saying it out aloud loosed the knot in his stomach, but not by much.

"Okay, then, have a good day."

The blonde got out and followed the group of kids in. Luckily for him he didn't have to ask were the office was because it was the first thing you saw when you walked in.

He followed a girl into the office, she didn't stay long, just dropped off a piece of paper. Matthew thought he would have to cough or wave his hands to get someones attention, but he didn't have to. The lady behind the desk saw him immediately. At his other school no one noticed him this fast.

"He-hello, I'm Matthew Williams." It felt awkward saying his whole name to a stranger. He was happy when she stopped him from explaining why he was here, she already knew.

"Ahhh, your the new student, correct." He nodded. "He's your schedule and your locker number and combination." A boy, with black hair, eyeliner and wearing a band shirt walked in. "Ducan here can help you!"

The boy, Ducan looked up. "Yeah, okay." His accent was almost as thick as Allistor's, maybe even thicker. He took the schedule out of Matthew's shaking hands. "Yer locker's near mine." It was hard to understand him, but after a moment the Canadian got what he was saying.

He took he blonde down some hallways, the Canadian trying to remember all the turns he took. Finally they got to a row of lockers. The blacked haired teen opened Matthew's locker for him. Matthew put his stuff inside. There was already 6 textbooks on the shelf.

Ducan looked down at the schedule and began pulling out a textbook, notebook, and a pencil. "Yer first hour is English, same as mine."

After getting everything Matthew needed they went to Ducan's locker, which was only 5 lockers away. He grabbed te same thing and then kicked the locker closed before walking back the way they came.

The town was small, so not many kids went to the school. The hallways back at Matthew's old school were crowded, kids got pushed this way and that way, but this was different. No one ran through the hallways, no one pushed or pulled anyone, and everyone minded their own business. Every now and then you would see a few kids chatting, but they always stood out of the way of others. _"Only if Alfred was here..."_ But Alfred liked running in the halls, he liked pushing other kids out of his way, and him and his friends always would stand in peoples way to talk.

Ducan stopped. "Are ye okay?" He sounded genuinely worried.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just this is so... different."

They started walking again. "Good different or bad different?"

"Good." There was no doubt that this was a better school.

Once back by the office they turned and walked up a stair case. On the second floor Ducan turned right. "This is the English, writing and reading hallway. Looks like ye'll only be here for one hour."

Matthew followed Ducan into a classroom near the end of the hall. There was only 15, or 20 desks in the room. Back at the blonde's old school, there were up to 40 kids in a class, and 60 in gym. It was nice to have less students, it meant that the teacher could spend more time helping students, and teaching. He wanted to tell Alfred about this but something told him that the American would not want to hear about it. Either that, or he wouldn't be impressed.

"Ye can sit where ever ye like." Ducan sat down in one of the middle desks.

"Do-do you mind if I sit by you?"

"Go ahead!"

* * *

Next was history. The history hallway, was the same hallway where Matthew's locker was. Matthew grabbed the textbook and followed Ducan to the classroom. They sat by each other again, and he helped the Canadian. Everything went smoothly. Then the bell rang.

They walked to their lockers together. "Here, yer gonna need this." Ducan added an algebra book to the pile of stuff Matthew needed. "The math hallway is on the second floor but tae the left."

He looked at the schedule again. "And then ye have art class. That's on the first floor, it's the hallway closest tae the office. Beware the teacher bites."

Then they parted. Matthew let the last part of his new friend's instructions ring in his head. What did he mean, the teacher bites? He decided not to worry about it too much, because right now he had math.

With a little help from a girl passing by he made his way to the right classroom. The class started right after he got in. He found a desk near the teacher's. He opened his textbook to the page on the board and began working.

Soon the bell rang again. He rushed back to his locker, disposed of his book and head to the hallway that Ducan told him. There were only 3 classrooms. He found the art one and sat down.

* * *

Art was probably the hardest of the classes so far, Ducan was right, the teacher did bite. She yelled at most of the students, on one account just for breathing too loud. But she was really nice to Matthew. After class one kid came up to him and asked him how he didn't get burned by the dragon, he guessed that he was talking about the art teacher.

It was lunch and the blonde was trying to find Ducan. Soon enough he came to his locker. "Gym was a-" He was cut off by a brunette.

"Ducan!" She shouted. Upon noticing Matthew she introduced herself. "I'm Sally, but please, just call me Sal." She like Ducan was wearing a band shirt.

"I'm Matthew."

"Lets get to lunch, I'm starving!"

"Yer starving!? I had run a mile because Mr. Hill didn't like my attitude!"

"I hope you showered good after that."

"Nope!" They the black haired teen raised his arm and shoved his armpit into Sal's face.

"Ewwww!" She shouted. "Wait, Matthew, doesn't know." Ducan gave her a questioning look. She hit him upside the head. "Were sibilings."

Something clicked in Ducan's head. "Oh yeah, she's only 9 months younger than me so she is in the same year as us." She smiled widely at the pair.

"Ye have any siblings?" They asked in union.

Matthew chuckled. "Yes."

"Younger or older?"

"Older."

"By how many years."

"Five minutes."

They had looks of shock on their face. "Does he go tae school here?"

A ton of bricks seemed to drop in Matthew's stomach, he slowed his pace. His Matthew became dry. He came to Scotland to get away from his fathers, not his brother. He should have asked if he wanted to come. But it was too late now. "No." The one word was like a plow to the gut.

They were at the cafeteria. "Grab a tray and pig out." Ducan said, grabbing a blue try from the pile at the beging of the line.

The Canadian was so used to skipping lunch, he hated sitting alone. He got a try and followed Ducan. The cafeteria was even better than the one at his old school.

After they got their food they sat at a table by the corner. Matthew took this time to check his phone. He had 2 texts, one from Allistor, and another from Alfred. He checked Allistor's first, knowing that it would be the better of the 2. _Hope your day is going good, see you after school. _Matthew read it in his accent. He cracked a smile. Next he checked his brother's. _We're twins, we're suppose to go through things together. _He knew that Alfred was talking about going to a new school.

"Is everything okay?" Sal asked, taking a sip of her milk.

"Yea, ye look a pit pale, don't tell me yer going tae me sick on yer first day." Ducan said through a mouth of pizza.

"Has anyone ever told you, that your disgusting?"

"What? I couldn't hear ye over me not care!" After that little argument with his sister he turned back to the blonde. "Ye don't look that good."

"Thanks." Sal hit her brother. Matthew laughed. "I probably just need to eat."

* * *

The brunette had science with Matthew, and the two sat together. Sal really didn't pay attention in class, not that she needed to, she was super smart. She helped Matthew with his work.

Class ended and they had to part. Matthew had French. This class would be a piece of cake, he knew French just as well as English.

Matthew wasn't in the class for very long. Since he knew French so well he got put in study hall instead of having to take the class, he would just have to take the end of the year test so that he would get credit for the class.

Study hall was in the library. Only 5 other students had it. Sal was one of these students. "You already got out of French!? How?! It took me 2 weeks to talk her into letting me take study hall instead.

"French is like a first language to me."

They chatted for a bit before they were shushed by an old lady stamping the cards in the back of they books. "Old hag." Sal muttered and returned to her book.

Study hall wasn't so boring, not when Sal made up a game to see who could make the best paper airplanes and if they could get it on top of the shelves. Sal held the record. Everyone played along, even Matthew. He would have never done this, the worst thing he ever did was skip gym class, and that was only once, and it was because that was tradition, that the hockey team, after a really big win, skipped their 4th hour and trash the couch's office and Matthew didn't trash the office, he stood outside of it and just waited for the rest of the team to be done.

When the final bell ran they went to their lockers. Sadly, Sal's locker was on the second floor so they had to split too soon.

After grabbing his bag, the Canadian walked to the front of the school. Allistor was sitting in his car. A cigarette hanging from his lips. As Matthew was walking toward the car, there were two pats on his back. "See ye tomorrow." Sal said. Ducan smiled. They walked off to the bus, well, Sal walked. Ducan jumped from the front of the school steps, onto the lawn and then hoped over a rose bush. Sal ran after him.

Getting into the car Allistor asked the question Matthew knew he was going to ask. "Made any friends?" The Scot smirked.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: I went back and changed a few things in the last chapter, nothing too major. **

**My editor hasn't edited anything of mine in quite sometime... He is also currently mad at me because I didn't want to play video games with him (I was getting my hair dyed! And it already came out wrong, I secretly kinda like it, because it's dark and all...) Sorry for the long wait, but this is pretty long, I hope it was worth the wait...**

It had been about 2 weeks since Matthew had started school, everything was feeling... natural. It was almost like that's how it was supposed to be. Like he was meant to live in Scotland and that his life was in place.

Since it was a Saturday, and Matthew was on Spring Break, he was at home. Most of the time he sat in his room, texting Ducan, or Sal, occasionally Alfred, trying to get him to understand. Lately, his brother stopped replying.

Right now Matthew was lying on his bed, reading something for class. The french doors open and close. He heard Allistor's voice and the voices of others. He was too far away to hear what exactually they were saying. So he decided to check it out, hoping that it was Ingrid or one of his uncle's friends, people he was comfortable talking to.

He headed down the stairs. When he was half way down the stairs the Scot popped his head into view. "There's someone ye should see."

"_Maybe Ducan or Sal came to visit..."_

Allistor lead him through the house. He turned the corner into the foyer and nearly screamed.

There stood the 3 people he least wanted to see. His fathers and his brother. His mind froze and he felt like banging it on the wall until it started working.

It was the Frenchman the ran up first. He grabbed his son and held on, as if scared he would lose him again. The last time he got a hug was ages ago, well not really, Sal hugged him everyday they left school, but the last time someone in his family hugged him, it really had been awhile.

"I'm sorry, mon fils. Je suis tell aement désolé (I'm so sorry)" He sobbed. Francis was always more attached to Matthew than his other father.

Looking over his father's shoulder he saw Alfred, he look like he hadn't slept since the day Matthew left home, but that seemed impossible, in the Canadian's mind, his family might have actually slept better.

The Frenchman parted from his son.

"If yer here tae take the lad-"

"We're not." There was venom in the Brit's voice. "We'll let him finish out the school year, and after that we'll let him make his decision. Just we needed to see him."

Then a phone rang. It was Matthew's. Of course it was Sal, Ducan didn't use his cell phone, and the only other people who would call him was Allistor.

"Hey I'm-"

"_Shopping center, we're going to the shopping center. Me and Ducan saw some strange people pull up to your house, yes we spy on you, get over it! Anywho, we're here to get you out of it, we're going to the shopping center."_

Matthew cracked a smile as he hung up. "Can I go to the shopping center?"

Everyone looked at each other.

"Well, Allistor, can he? He is in **your** care."

"Go ahead, lad. And tell Sal, that she needs tae stop spyin'. It's creepy."

As he went to exit the house, blue eyes followed him. "Hey, can Alfred come?"

"If that's okay with you." The blonde Brit said. "It's actually would be better, we have some... adult business to attend to."

Matthew pulled his brother.

"I don't wanna go! Your a traitor and you know it."

"Matt? A traitor? Ye off yer top or somethin'?"

There was Ducan, in band merch and a pair of black jeans. He had hopped the fence. And then came Sal, in shorts, and a gray tank top.

"Allistor said to stop spying."

"He knows that wont happen." She said. "And whose this? I already know, but amuse me."

"Alfred, my brother."

"Nice to meet you." They said in union.

"Last one to the shopping center has to buy everyone smoothies." She announced.

Everyone took off. Alfred was the last, but he wasn't the slowest, and wasn't the last one.

He ran. Sal was ahead, Matthew and Alfred were tied for second, but Ducan was barely trying.

Finally, after running blocks they were at the mall. The shopping center was near the edge of town. The black haired teen was still a block away. "Looks like Ducan is buying." Sal yelled, giving a giggle and entering.

It wasn't that crowded today, it was week day, and only the teenagers that went to the public school had the day off.

"So you're Mattie's friends? Like there aren't any other friends?"

"What is that supposed to mean!?" The brother and sister said together.

The American looked even more annoyed. "You know what? I'm just gonna leave."

"Good!"

"No!" Matthew grabbed his twin grabbed his arm. "Come on, Al."

The older of the two gave his brother a dirty look. "Why? You're doing just fine without me."

"And I'm sure you did just fine too!"

"Yeah... Of course. It's be _sooo _easy!"

The siblings behind them just stared at their interaction.

"What the heck do you mean?"

"YOU LEFT ME! JUST LEFT! LEFT ME WITH THEM!"

"And I felt bad!"

"So, that doesn't mean anything! You felt bad. Not bad enough not to do it."

Matthew opened his mouth, but Sal's voice came out. "We're going to go buy those smoothies, 2 strawberry bananas okay?" She grabbed Ducan, who was protesting, and left the scene.

"It wasn't just that." His brother turned away. "I was ignored. Here, I'm not ignored. I have friends."

"Not very good ones."

"Hey, they're better than what I had."

Alfred rolled his eyes. "Whatever. You still left. You could have at least told me."

"I couldn't have. If I did, you would have tried stopping me. I'm sorry, I knew it would effect you, and I still did it, it was wrong of me, I was being selfish and-"

"Oh shut up! I'm not going to be in Scotland for very long, I want to at least look around the mall." Of course Alfred called it mall, he was American, that's what they called it in America.

* * *

"How has he been? Has he caused you any trouble? We could take him back with us?" Arthur asked his brother. It was the first thing that came out of his mouth the second the boys left.

"That lad? Causin' trouble? The only problem with him, is he isn't causin' enough trouble!" Allistor said, leading the husbands through the estate. "And I will not let ye take him til he finishes school here!"

"Actually, he is **my **son, I can do whatever I fancy-"

"Like ignore him?"

"Allistor, you really want to go there?-"

"He 'as a point. We should leave Mattie finish school, at least." Arthur gave his partner an odd look.

They all sat down in the sitting room. The air was tense as the Brit thought about what he wanted to do. He knew that letting Matthew finish school here would be the better option, but he didn't know if he wanted that. Every morning for the past month, it got a pain in the heart whenever he walked past his son's empty room. Every time he looked at his TARDIS mug, he wished he was a time lord, that he could go back in time to when the Canadian was little, so that he could treat him better, not neglect him like he did.

With a sigh he made his verdict. "I'll let him finish out school, but I want him home for the summer."

"What about after that?" The Scot asked, leaning forward, elbows on his knees.

"Well, it seems like he is doing good at this school. If he wants, he can stay to finish out school." It was painful to say, but he said. Arthur looked to his brother, hoping it was the right decision.

"I swear, the lad'll be alright! I raised ye well enough, after mum died, didn't I?"

"Yeah..." He mumbled.

"Still drinking tea?" Arthur nodded. "Tea or coffee?" Allistor asked Francis.

"Coffee." The Frenchman said as the Scot left the room. Once he was sure he was out of earshot he turned to the Brit. "That was a good call."

"Yeah, whatever."

Francis took the pale hand of his husband.

* * *

The twins walked in, laughing about something that Ducan had said.

Then they stopped, remembering that it was a serious moment here. They stopped their laughter and walked to the sitting room where the adults were sitting silently, staring at them.

"Son."

"Y-yes?"

The room was so tense, you could feel it in the air. "I only have one question..." It was hard to breath. "How did you get here?"

"Yeah, lad, I was wondering aboot that too."

Matthew felt a wave of relief. "I-I-I I took a train."

They all nodded. The question still remained, 'Was Matthew allowed to stay in Scotland?'. It itched at his skin, not knowing. He didn't want to ask it himself, but at the same time he didn't want to wait any longer.

"Go clean up for dinner you two, we're going out." Arthur said. As the boys were almost up the stairs their father said something. "Oh yeah, Matthew, you can stay in Scotland, but I want you back in England for the summer, and then you can come back or school, but for holidays, you have to come home."

Matthew had a wide smile on his face, but Alfred kept his head down, not wanting to show his disappointment. He didn't want his brother to stay here. He missed him, but he didn't want to admit it. Also he didn't trust Allistor, he knew that he was his uncle, there was no doubt about it. The American

could barely stand the month without him, now he had to take the rest of the school year, which may only be a few weeks, but still, his little brother would be away from him for most of the year.

When they got up to Matthew's room, Alfred looked around, it was way better than his room back home. "How do you like it here?"

"It's great! I love it here!" He was enthusiastic, very enthusiastic. The younger was happy, but his brother, wasn't.

"Oh."

They washed up, and ran downstairs. The adults were standing around, putting on their coats. Allistor pulled him back when they all walked out to the Scot's car. "I got a surprise fer yer da." immediately Matthew knew what that surprise. Ingrid.

* * *

"How's my wee cousin?" The purple haired girl said ruffling the Brits hair.

"YOU!"

Allistor and Matthew burst out laughing. Alfred looked back and forth between his brother, his father, and the strange girl.

"An' ye have another son?" She said turning to the American. Ingrid wipped her hand off on her apron and put her hand out for him to shake. "Ingrid. Ye must be Alfred."

"Yes. Hi."

"C'mon, I'm yer cousin, ye gotta be a bit more excited." Alfred gave Matthew a weird look. "Silly lad didn't know he had a cousin. I wonder who kept it from him..." She stared down Arthur.

"I'm only in Scotland for 12 more hours. Please don't make it any more unpleasant than it needs to be."

* * *

Alfred and Matthew stayed in the Canadian's room. It was hard to sleep. They only had each other for a few more hours because Alfred's flight left 6 the next morning, he would have to go back to England with his parents. He wanted Matthew to come, but he knew that it was already decided that his brother stay in Scotland.

"Is everything alright Al?" He asked genuine concerned.

"Yeah, dude, just-" He couldn't lie anymore. With a deep breath he said what he had to say. "It's been rough. I mean yeah, they've changed, and stopped fighting since you left, but it's different. I'm so used to my little brother in the room next to mine." The American grabbed the stuffed polar bear from the bed, and was now holding it to his chest.

Matthew didn't know what to say. He missed his brother too. But before he wanted to stay in Scotland so bad he would do anything, now he didn't know.

It bothered him. Was he making the right choice staying in Scotland? Should he go home? What about his new friends? What about Allistor? Could Matthew go another few weeks without his brother? He didn't want to think about it. "I'm tired." He announced awkwardly.

"O-kay" His brother said. They went to bed. They both slept on the floor. Matthew faced the wall, away from his brother. He needed time to think, and staring at his brother, who certainly pull his choice one way.

He did miss home... But would things truly change? He loved it here with his uncle. What would his uncle do if he left? He would be alone. Allistor really did enjoy Matthew's company. And Matthew enjoyed Allistor's.

That night Matthew didn't get a lot of sleep. He was thinking about everything, taking everything into consideration about what to do next.


	6. Chapter 6

Morning had come faster than Matthew wanted it too. He was tired and wore out, he had only had an hour of sleep and it felt like his brain was fried and his eyes stung.

There was a knock on the door. Of course, the Canadian being the lighter sleeper of the two was the one who woke up. "We got to get going." Said Arthur from the other side of the door. Matthew had to actually kick Alfred to get him awake and then had to give him another to get him to stay awake.

They got ready and headed downstairs. Everyone was gathered in the living room. Since it was only a day that the 3 were staying they only had one bag each.

After loading the bags into the car, they all squeezed in. It was a short drive to the pancake house where they would be having a quick breakfast.

But the thing was, Matthew couldn't eat. His mind was still going about what he was thinking about last night. His stomach was upset.

"What did you do to my son?" The Brit asked. Matthew had been staring at his pancakes, absent minded for a good 5 minutes.

"Nothing." Allistor answered defensively.

Finally Matthew snapped his head up. "I just need to use the bathroom." He stated, getting up and leaving.

He had sat in the stall trying to think, he felt like puking, his head hurt and so did his stomach. He was tired and just wanted it all to be figured out for him.

When he got out he stood in front of the mirror, water running, just staring at himself.

The door to the bathroom opened, but Matthew didn't look. Then the red head came into view in the mirror.

"Now, lad, yer scarin' everyone. Tell me what's wrong." He looked at Matthews bloodshot eyes in the mirror.

There was no hiding anything from the Scot, he was Allistor, he had magical powers that could tell when something was wrong, even in the slightest ways.

"What do I do after summer break?" He asked. "I want to stay with you, I love Scotland. But at the same time, I miss my family. But with they really change? Can things change? I'm so happy here, but can I be happy there too?"

The next thing that happened Matthew didn't expect, even in a moment like now. Allistor hugged him. "Now, laddie, that's all it is?"

"All it is?"

"Yes, all it is. A derision that you have three months to make... Yer a teen, ye shouldn't be worrying about this. Ye should be more worried about lassies, or acne, or parties, or sneaking alcohol. Not what school yer going tae." He was right. He did have time. A lot of time in fact. "Now get out there and stop scarin' yer father! He thinks I abuse ye."

And that's what the Canadian did.

He never knew how much of a life coach Allistor was. But he also didn't know Allistor all that well. What Allistor's past was like.

* * *

They were at the airport. All saying their farewells. And of course there was tears. It wouldn't be right without tears. (Most of them coming from Francis).

His French father held him tight, speaking rapid French into his ear while his other father just watched.

Alfred didn't have much to say, he had came to accept that Matthew wouldn't be going home with them, like he hoped, but he also didn't have a comment, there wasn't anything to say. When Francis finally let his son go, Alfred jumped right in to get a hug. "I'm gonna miss you." He whispered into his brother's ear.

"And I'm going to miss you too. Please return my calls, even if you are mad at me."

Next Arthur came to say his goodbye. "Matthew, you know I love you, right?" The Canadian nodded his head. "And this summer I am going to try and show you that I really do love you, and that I am sorry for chasing you out." It was sincere. "And if my arse of a brother starts to hurt you-"

"I wont!"

"Call me, please." He said, giving his son one last hug. Before turning to the red head who had been watching the scene. "You better try him right."

"O' course, cause I like tae beat children. God, Iggy chill!"

"Iggy?" The twices said in union.

"No! No! No! No! NO! No calling me that!" He said eyes wide. "Lets get going before we miss our flight." He said exsaghusted.

Everyone, but Allistor gave Matthew another hug.

"Get some better friends." Alfred said before parting with his twin.

* * *

"Yer already missing them, aren't ye." Allistor said when they were half way home. All the blonde could do was nod, if he tried to say something he would choke on the words and cry. "Yer welcome tae leave anytime, just give me the word."

"That's the thing... I don't want to leave. I love it here. But I love my family. And if I leave, you'll be alone, and that doesn't seem right." Matthew looked down at his lap, studying his jeans, not really wanting to see his uncle's expression.

They parked in the drive way, but neither of them got out. "So, lad, ye care about me... I knew ye did, but enough not tae leave... Now that's somethin' else." Matthew gulped. "I understand that ye miss yer family. But what do ye really want tae do. If there was no way that 'd be alone, and ye didn't miss yer family, what would ye do then?"

"I'd stay here." That was an easy answer but saying it aloud made him realize something. He was better off here. He wanted to stay here. And the more he thought about it, the better it sounded. Matthew would get to see his family on holidays, and summer break, and Allistor wouldn't be alone for too long.

A smile etched onto the teen's face. Everything really was going to be alright. A hand clamped down on his shoulder. "Better?"

"Yes." He said.

The pair got out and walked into the house. It was odd, yesterday is was filled with people, today it was back to being empty.

**A/N: This chapter was pretty short, but the last chapter was pretty long, so it all evens out. Sorry about it being short. I will try and make the next chapter longer. Thank you, if you read up to this part, you are amazing! **


	7. Chapter 7

The school year was coming to a close, end of the year exams were going on, and Matthew was stressed out, just trying to make it til June 13th. It seemed impossible, when really it was only a week away.

Ducan and Sal had been busy too, but they still managed to plan a whole camping trip for the trio, that was before they knew Matthew had to spend his summer in England.

"Yer going tae spend the **whole** summer in England? Boring!"

"No, we might go to France to visit my family there." He said one day while packing his bag.

"So you can't come camping with us?" Sal asked, disappointment laced her voice. "C'mon, you can't miss camping! It's a week in the wilderness, just us, a tent, and 24 arches of trees."

"I'll ask if I can come back for a week." The Canadian closed his locker.

"You better!" She said.

* * *

Matthew still hadn't asked, but right now he was too busy to do that, he was studying and finishing up last minutes. It felt like he was drowning in so much work.

Finally it was midnight, and he needed rest. Tomorrow he would have to start packing and organize all his notes. He was too tired to do that tonight, which is what he was going to do, but he hadn't had the time.

"Yer still up?" Allistor asked. He had been walking down the hallway and found that Matthew's door was open.

"Yeah, I was studying. I still have so much to do."

The Scot took a few steps in the room. "Studying?"

"Yeah, why?"

He gave a chuckle. "I never could study."

"Why?" Matthew was interested.

A look of confusion washed over the red head's face, but then it cleared up. "Ye don't know, do ye?" Matthew nodded. There was something in the Scot's eyes. It was hard to tell what. Allistor came in and sat down on the bed. He took a deep breath. "Yer father never told ye?"

"No."

He looked down at the covers "That sounds like him..." He whispered. "Alright, I'll tell ye, but it isn't some glamorous tale." With a sigh he started his story.

"My mum died when I was about yer age. She tried tae stay alive as long as she could, but she just couldn't. My da, who used tae beat me, he left, not wanting tae put up with kids. Living me tae raise the rest o' my brothers." His eyes were glistening from the start of tears, but he looked down and went on. "So I raised 'em tae the best o' my abilities. But I was still young. We inherited this house, but we still had other things we needed, so I got a job, I worked day and night, sometimes havin' tae miss school. When I got home I was too tired, but I still stayed up long enough tae make sure everything was alright, that my brothers were fed an' that their homework was done."

Matthew who had been sitting at the desk moved over to the bed, next to his uncle. "An' every night I would remember what my da used tae do tae me. How he would hurt me. An' I vowed tae never let that happen tae my brothers." He said, still looked down.

"You did a good job."

Allistor finally looked up to meet his nephew's eyes. "Ye really think, lad?"

"Of course!"

Never had he seen the Scot so weak, he never thought it possible. If Matthew's father could here this story, he would think more of his brother.

"Allistor?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you ever...Do you ever hate living here alone?"

The red head gave a chuckle. "Can I tell ye something?" Matthew nodded. "Every night, even as I grew older, I had nightmares about my childhood, but since ye came along... They stopped." He said. Green eyes met purple ones.

A question popped into the Canadian's head, one that's answer didn't fit the story. _Why did his British father hate the red head so much?_ It didn't make sense. If what the Scot was saying is true, than his brother should love him, thank him everyday. He raised him, put his life aside to help raise him.

"So why does my dad hate you?" Matthew didn't mean to sound so harsh but he had already said it, and now he was awaiting the answer.

Allistor gave a chuckle. "I didn't do a good enough job, I guess." With that he got up, stretching. "It's late, an' all, so good night." As he was walking towards the door, he stopped and turned around. "An' lad..." The blonde looked up from his notebook. "No more studying, ye look a bit stressed."

That was his uncle, so understanding, so wise, and so different.

* * *

The next day Matthew started packing, he took Allistor's advice and didn't study. He could do that later.

It was a gloomy thing, taking his clothes out of the closet, packing everything up. He would have to leave Scotland soon.

After last night he wanted to stay in with his uncle. He worried about him, his past was rougher than Matthew's. The Canadian knew that the Scot would be just fine, and that he was tough, but at the same time, he was attached to him, more than he was attached to his French father.

When all but a few outfits that he would need for school were packed he felt his heart sink. He didn't want to leave.

Walking into the sitting room he found Allistor reading, it was an odd sight. Once he sensed that someone was in the room he put the book down. "Lad, did ye ask if ye could come back for the camping trip?"

Matthew was about to reply but then realized that he hadn't said a word about the camping trip. "How-"

"Where do ye think they camp?"

"In the woods." That's when he realized something else, the closest woodland area was outside the Kirkland estate.

"Right in my backyard every year... No doubt they invited ye..."

"You're close with everyone around here aren't you?" Matthew said sitting down and picking up the book in his uncles hands, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and flipped through the pages.

The Scot gave one of his warm welcoming chuckles. "Yeah. I am."

There was silence in the room. Never before had the silence been so comfortable. "Why don't you come to England with me?"

"Yer father isn't exactly a fan of mine..."

"But I don't want you to be alone."

"Matt, I'm glad ye think about me. But I'm not welcome. But I will be right here waiting for yer return."

"What do you mean your not welcome?!"

"Me and my brother haven't talked fer 17 years!"

"I'm sure he would want to get to know you a little bit better if his son is going to be living you for the rest of his time in high school..."

"I'll think about it..."

**A/N: Another short chapter. I'm sorry about that. Now some more bad news, Spring Break is over so I wont be posting too often. At the least once a week. I'm sorry, but I can tell you that this is near the end so it wont be too bad... I actually might only make a few more chapters. I had plans to finish writing a fanfiction, but I want to work on some original stuff. I might come back to what I had in mind...**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Sorry this took so long, I've been busy with school and then today I was going to work on it during computer class, but then I remembered that I didn't have computer class because I had to go to this conference for some program, and I am trying to upload faster. **

School was finished, and Matthew was now forced to go England.

Ducan and Sal insisted they come, he expected this. The siblings were close to him, and they hated the fact that he was leaving them, even if it was only for a few months. Also Ingrid came. All of them came to see him off, which just made it worse. He didn't want to leave them.

"Allistor, why aren't you going?" Sal asked from the backseat where all the teenagers squeezed in.

"My brother doesn't like me."

The brunette and Ingrid scoffed. "My brother hates me, and we had to share a room til we were 7!" Sal said.

"An' yer brother hates me more than ye. An' in my opinion, someone should be there with Mattie. Either me or ye. What do ye think 'll be better?"

The Scot spoke up. "I've been thinkin' about it, okay... But I gotta call my brother an' warn him. Also, I think he needs some alone time with Matt."

"What do ye mean 'Alone time'? Time so he can abuse him!" Ducan said. There was a hint of rage in his voice.

"Time to catch up. Time to make Matthew feel appreciated." Allistor clarified. "But I still want ye tae call me every night. I wanna know what's up." The Scot said directly to the Canadian.

By this time they were at the airport. It was almost heart breaking. Matthew would have to leave the people he had been calling family to go to the ones who he decided weren't good enough to be called family.

Just as he was about to board, his red headed uncle gave him a hug. "Now don't hesitate tae call me, lad. As for going tae England, I'll try. If I don't, see ye in the fall."

Ingrid said her goodbye, which ended with a "I'll kill him if he ever does that again!"

Ducan and Sal gave him a group hug and a wave.

Rushing onto the plane, the blonde found his seat and sat there. "Maybe they had changed?" Matthew thought to himself. It was the whole reason he didn't want to go back home, was the fear that they hadn't changed. But did he really want them to change? If they had changed they would Matthew want to stay? It was all so confusing and he really didn't want to think about it. He just wanted it to be over.

* * *

The plane landed shortly. "Will they even be here? Or did they forget about me?" He wondered.

Surprisingly, they hadn't forgotten, and they were eager to see him. "C'mon, let's get you home! Back in your bedroom. Doesn't that sound nice? Actually staying in your own room." Already his father was trying to convince him to stay. And a little piece of him wanted to. But another piece knew where he truly belonged.

They helped load his bags into the car. He had more stuff than when he left thanks to his uncle insisting that he buy him clothes.

He sat in the back next to Alfred. No one said much, so he took this time to take in what he had missed while in Scotland.

There wasn't much new. Nothing actually, especially when they got into the town Matthew had been raised. It was as if he never left, which wasn't a big surprise.

It was weird, though, as if in a dream, seeing the small town after a few months.

Kids were running around with water guns. A group of teens were having a shaving cream fight in an empty lot. A couple was walking hand in hand. It was surely summer.

When the car pulled into the driveway of the big house that was once home. Matthew got nervous. He was scared of what he would see. Would the house be torn apart? Would the kitchen be burnt? Had they got a dog?

Everyone got out. The sun beaming down on them, warming the back of their necks. Francis went to unlock the door while the others unloaded the bags from the trunk. The ride had been quite and Matthew was waiting for them to be the loud, obnoxious family he was used to.

Inside the Canadian took a look around, taking in everything. But there wasn't anything to take in. It was the same. The bags were set at the bottom of the stairs for the time being.

"I'll make lunch." His french father announced. "Mattie, why don't you get cleaned up."

With that Matthew walked up the stairs prepared to see what they had done to his room. He imaged it would be turned into an office for his British father. But when he opened the door it was the same it had been. The desk in the corner was still covered with papers. The bed was unmade. The closet door was open, and only a few clothes were on the hangers. The dirty clothes were still piled in the basket behind the door. It was strange.

The light streamed through the open window. A gentle breeze came through the window, the curtains billowed. It was calm in the room. Almost natural. Matthew didn't know what to think. He was so used to his room back at Allistor's castle.

He took this time to text Ducan, Sal, Ingrid, and Allistor. He sent them all the same text: _At the house_. He didn't get a reply because as soon as he sent it his father called him down.

Everyone was acting strangely normal. It was a bit disturbing.

His father had made fruit salad, and sandwiches. The family sat in the dinning room together.

"So how was school." Arthur said, taking a bite out of his sandwich. Matthew looked to his brother waiting for him to answer but instead everyone was staring at him.

"Oh me! It was good." He said.

"You were goon for months and all you have to say is 'good'." Alfred sounded slightly irritated.

"Okay. Well it was good. I made two friends. I got good marks. The classes were fine. There isn't much to say. It's school." He continued to eat.

Everyone still stared at him. "What else happened? You know when you were in Scotland."

"Oh. It was good." Matthew wanted to go on about how amazing it was, but he didn't know how, or want his family to think he was having too much fun and that he didn't like them. So he kept quite.

As he was thinking of a way to escape upstairs his phone went off. _Get out here!_ It was a text from Gilbert. He must have heard that he was back in England.

"Can I go out?" Matthew asked.

"I don't see why not-"

He was up and out of his chair, already heading out. "I'll be back later." He called swinging the door open.

There was Gilbert's car, and inside was there, running, waiting for him. Ivan was there. There was also a cooler in the back. "Hurry up! The beach closes at 9 and you have to tell us all about this uncle!"

Matthew ran, jumping the steps of the porch.


	9. Chapter 9

**Boom! I'm back! I bet none of you thought you'd be hearing from me after that LONG break, but I'm back. Between school, and the occasional breakdown, I didn't have time to write the next chapter but I felt so bad! I hate when people just stop writing. So I'm back. Also, my flash drive got slammed in my locker door, and got bent so I couldn't use it. But I got a new one. Once again, I'm so sorry!**

The three got to the beach, Gilbert of course brought a cooler of beer. Matthew only had one, and Ivan brought his own bottle of vodka. Even though the Canadian knew underage drinking was wrong, he still had a beer when hanging out with his friends, and it just seemed right to have one now after everything.

"So tell me about your uncle..." Gil started after his second beer.

"His name is Allistor, him and my father don't get along, and he is likes to drink whisky. Also he lives in a castle." The blonde took another swig of beer.

"A castle?!" The albino shouted. Their Russian friend stayed silent listening to the conversation.

"Yeah. He inherited it."

After the sun was setting a bit more and Gilbert had finished off all the beers they started heading back to Matthew's house to drop him off. "So what else happened in Scotland?" Ivan spoke up.

"Nothing much, school." Matthew decided it best to leave out the part of his new friends.

When they pulled up in front of the large house the Prussian turned to his friend. "Tomorrow night my bruder is gonna be out. Ve're gonna have a sleep over!" He said overly excited, like a school girl. But the other two went along with it.

It was exactly 9 when Matthew walked through the door, he knew this because the gradfather clock in the hallway was ringing 9 times.

"Where were you?" Asked a Brittish accent from the sitting room.

The teen was about to answer, but someone cut in. "Leave him alone, he was out with his friends." It was his other father. When he walked into the sitting room he saw that the long haired male was reading a newspaper and his partner was reading a book. "I don't see you nagging Alfred when he gets home."

"Where is Alfred." Asked the Canadian.

"Out." They said at the same time.

Matthew was about to go to his room but his father called him back into the room. "I've been thinking-" The Frenchman gave his husband a look. "We've been thinking." He corrected himself. "That you could use a car."

"Really?"

"Yes, that way you could drive places instead of having your friends come and get you. And if you think you can do it... You could drive back to your uncle's." It sounded as if he had been thinking about this for awhile. Matthew knew his French father was the one that had brought it up, his other father would never buy him a car.

"Okay." He said, trying to sneak upstairs.

His fathers let him. So climbing up the stairs he kept on hand on the rail and another on the wall. He felt a dent in the wooden rail. Matthew remembered that dent. How could he not. Just thinking about it made his head hurt.

~~~Flash back~~~

It was the twins 7th birthday and Alfred was overly excited, but not Matthew so much. He didn't want to grow up. He didn't want to be an adult (even though his fathers had told him already that he would not be an adult just because he turned 7).

Matthew was walking soberly down the stair. "Alfred! Matthew! Your come down here if you want to open presents!" One of his fathers called. The Canadian was about to walk back up to his room. But the American came rushing down the stairs.

Apparently Matthew was in the way. So his older brother (by five minutes) pushed him aside. He fell head first into the wooden railing. He fell over the rail and into the hallway. At first he couldn't cry. His fathers, who had come to see what the commotion, worried.

"What happened!?" The Brit demanded to know.

Alfred was crying but Matthew just sat there staring up at them.

" 'e's not crying! Zhat's a bad sign, Arthur!"

"Francis calm down!"

But no one was calm except the little Canadian.

They all just stared at him. Alfred, of course, was the one who broke the tense air. "Are you okay. Mattie?" He patted his brother's head without even thinking.

The youngest burst into tears.

~~~End of Flashback~~~

He continued up the stairs, and turned the corner to his room. By now it was late, and he was tired. He put his phone on the charger and checked his messages. He had 15. He read them all, but didn't have the heart to reply, so he just laid there, on his bed, thinking.

The blonde thought about Alfred, and how they used to be so close. He thought about his fathers who used to never. He thought about Allistor and why he doesn't get along with his brother. He thought about what happened before he was born. He thought about everything. One of the biggest things he thought about was, his place in this world.

Where did he belong? And why?

Was Scotland his home? Or was England?

Who were his true friends? Ducan and Sal? Or Gilbert and Ivan?

Everything was so confusing, and he only had a summer to think about it.

* * *

Matthew had woken up, still dressed in his clothes and shoes. He sat up straight. He had awoken from a nightmare. It was one of those nightmares where you don't know what it was about, you just know you had a nightmare.

He didn't know what to do. He just wanted to know that he wasn't alone. He looked over to his phone to see if what time it was, and he saw that there was a text, it was from Allistor and sent a few hours ago.

Allistor. He could always trust the Scot. He needed to talk to someone and so the voice of the Scot would calm him down.

For a moment he thought about if he should. He felt like the walls were closing in on him, so he did. He dialed the number and sat there waiting.

It was the 5th ring when finally the red head picked up.

"What is it, Lad?" It was obvious he had been sleeping.

Now, having to say it out aloud seemed silly. "I had a nightmare."

"About?"

"I don't know."

There was a sigh on the other end, and for a moment Matthew thought it was a sigh of irritation. "Have ye been havin' lately?"

"No."

"If ye keep havin' these nightmares, I want ye tae call me! But fer now, take a shower an' relax."

After a short exchange they hung up and Matthew went to do what he was told.

* * *

Walking out of the bathroom, the front door opened. Wandering down the hallway to the landing, the Canadian looked over the end, to find his brother. He thought it might have been a robber, so this was relief.

Walking down a few stairs he took a closer look.

Alfred was in one piece but he didn't look right. He was pale, and it looked like he was not completely here, mentally. Then he noticed he'd been sweating. "Alfred?"

His brother turned toward him. That's when it hit Matthew, his brother was drunk!

"Alfred, why don't you go-" Matthew had took the classes on alcohol poisoning and he knew that letting someone 'sleep it off' wasn't the best idea. "Go sit in the living room, I'm going to go change, and we can sit together."

The other twin was too drunk to think properly, so he went with it.

Still in just a towel Matthew went back to his room and quickly pulled on some pajamas. He wanted to tell his fathers, but he didn't know if he should. His brother's life could be on the line, but at the same time he could just be over reacting.

If he hadn't already bothered Allistor, he would call him. Taking a deep breath, he went to his fathers' room. He knocked and waited for a response.

He didn't get one and was about to knock again, but the Frenchman came out of the room, shutting the door behind him. "Is everything okay, Matt?"

"It's Alfred. I think he might have alcohol poisoning, I could just be over reacting, but he came home and... I'm just worried." The teen felt like a five year old telling his dad that there was a monster in his closet.

The dad didn't say anything, he just rushed down the stairs and into the sitting room.

* * *

His English father took his brother to the hospital, he said that both of them would get a 'stern talk' about underage drinking.

Even though his other father instructed him to go back to bed, he couldn't. He just wanted to get away, have some more time to think.

A late night drive seemed in order.

**So school is out, and I have a lot more free time, so I'll update faster. I'm so sorry for the wait! **


End file.
